


Bruises

by Luck_Kazajian



Category: Lupin III
Genre: First Aid, Fist Fights, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jigen being dad, Lupin's Mask Cracks, Tough Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26975461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luck_Kazajian/pseuds/Luck_Kazajian
Summary: Lupin looked up and grinned, despite his busted lip. His bruises stood out stark against his pale skin and sharp cheekbones, but he wore them well. Defiant, rakish -- not like Jigen. Jigen knew he looked like hell right now, beaten, bruised. It’s the scowl, Lupin would say. You always look like the loser, Jigen. The trick is to never look like the loser, even if you were. Maybe Lupin was right. Because even now, under the purplish discoloration, the uneven shoulders and busted lip, Lupin still smiled and looked damned devilish doing it.Just our boys patching each other up after a fistfight.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	Bruises

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes spontaneous fics are good ;) This fic was inspired by a couple of unused lines from when I wrote Failed Shot! Jigen and today when I read them, I just got this idea in my head. I wrote it pretty quick, so if you find any needed edits, lemme know. I'm also a sucker for domestic scenes between the guys and since I just did one for Jigen and Goemon in The Great Escape, I figured it was time Jigen and Lupin got a little screen time.

“Ow! Dammit! Lupin, that hurts!” Jigen hissed. He sat at the kitchen table in the safehouse, hands spread in front of him, while Lupin cleaned and bandaged his bloody knuckles. 

“Oh, quit whining, Jigen, it’s not that bad,” Lupin scoffed. 

“Wait till it’s your turn,” Jigen muttered. 

Lupin smirked. “Maybe next time don’t punch so hard.” 

“Don’t punch so hard? _Don’t punch so hard_? What did you want me to do, you idiot, let you get pummeled into the street? I don’t know if you’ve had a good look at that mug of yours since we got back, but you don’t look so hot either, pal.” 

Lupin gave him a wink and a grin. Or what would have been a grin if he didn’t wince through his split lip instead. Lupin poured another round of rubbing alcohol across Jigen’s knuckles. Jigen hissed.

“Is that really necessary?” he said through gritted teeth. 

“In case _you_ didn’t notice, _pal,_ ” Lupin said, a tinge of heat in his voice, “you had a damn tooth -- a tooth! -- stuck in the back of your hand. You know how dirty those things are?” 

Jigen shrugged. “So the thug didn’t brush his teeth, so what?” 

Lupin rolled his eyes. “You’ll thank me when you don’t get an infection.” 

“I’ve never had an infection in my life.” 

“There’s a first time for everything,” Lupin said cheerily as he wrapped Jigen’s knuckles in gauze and tape. When he was done, Jigen pulled his hands back, experimentally flexing his fingers. He wouldn’t admit it, of course, but even he could tell that his knuckles were swollen. He couldn’t form full fists and he didn’t have all his fine motor skill, either. 

“Now, let me see to your face,” Lupin said. 

“My face is fine,” Jigen growled. 

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” Lupin asked. 

Jigen stuck his tongue out at him. 

“Off with the hat,” Lupin said. 

“No.” 

“Jigen…” 

Lupin lunged and Jigen leaned back, but he wasn’t quite fast enough. Lupin grabbed the edge of his hat and swiped it off Jigen’s head. Still, Jigen didn’t miss the wince as Lupin stretched across the edge of the table. He tossed the hat over his shoulder, towards the living room. It landed on the arm of the couch and toppled down onto the cushions. Jigen scowled. Lupin grinned again, then hissed and touched a hand to his swollen lip. “I have got to stop doing that.” 

“Serves you right, you cocky little shit.” 

“That’s no way to talk to your best friend, Jigen,” Lupin said sternly, but there was a smile dancing in his eyes.

“Friend? We are way too far gone to be friends right now.” 

“Jigen,” Lupin gasped, mock hurt, as he rummaged around in the open first aid kit on the table. “We’ve always been friends!” 

“Do friends lead each other into fistfights in back alleys?” Jigen continued. “Or say ‘we’ll be safe here, Jigen, I promise,’ when we’re not?” 

Lupin sighed. “Now you’re just being dramatic.” 

“No, I’m being literal.” Jigen crossed his arms. “Because someone forgot to mention their little feud with a dozen Hulk-sized country boys.” 

Lupin got up and walked into the adjoining kitchen and grabbed a cloth out of one of the drawers. He ran it under some hot water. “You’re just mad because your first two bullets missed,” he said from the sink. 

“Those were warning shots!” 

“Right. Of course.” Even though Lupin wasn’t smiling this time, Jigen could hear it in his voice. He wanted to strangle him. And also to sit down and have a congratulatory whiskey with him because despite the fact that they both took a beating, they won that fight, dammit. He was being irritable, but if he were being honest, he hurt and he was still pissed that Lupin hadn’t exactly been telling the truth when he dragged him and Goemon up to this safehouse in Austria. While they had been safe from Zenigata (so far), Lupin neglected to mention the argument he’d started with a family of farmers the last time he’d been here. Something about stealing a goat, Jigen gathered. Granted, it had, according to Lupin, been “ages ago!” But with Lupin one ever knew if that meant weeks, months, or years. If he was distracted enough, sometimes days counted as ages. So Jigen really had no idea if Lupin pissed these guys off yesterday or ten years ago. 

Which meant when they’d been jumped by eight guys in the alley earlier today, Jigen had only gotten off four good shots. He wasn’t lying about his first shot, that one had been a warning. The second one missed, and the other four all found their mark -- but that only meant he and Lupin had to duke it out with four guys instead of eight. Because having half their team dead or down for the count didn’t seem to phase these guys. And they’d all been mountains of men, too, taller and heavier than either Lupin or Jigen. In fact, one of the guys hoisted Lupin over his head like he weighed nothing and threw him up against the alley wall. Lupin managed to twist himself to take the brunt of the impact on his shoulder and not his head, but he’d still been winded. And he’d been favoring his left arm since, although he’d insisted that he clean up Jigen first. 

The worst Jigen had gotten were his bloody knuckles. Well, that and the punch to his jaw. It snapped his head back and made him see lights. His knees had buckled and he’d gone down on the cobbles, taking a second punch to the face before Lupin bodily tackled his assailant to give him enough time to get back on his feet. Jigen could feel the bruises on his face. Or, more precisely, he could feel where his face was swollen, but he couldn’t feel the pain yet. There was still too much adrenaline racing through his veins for that. But he’d feel it later for sure. 

The only bright side to all of this was that Goemon wasn’t home when they got back. Knowing the samurai, he was probably out meditating somewhere, and all for the better. At least he hadn’t seen them stagger into the kitchen bloody and beaten and looking like a couple of losers. 

Lupin returned from the kitchen and pulled his chair around the table, sitting down in front of Jigen. 

“Alright, let me see your face.” 

Jigen crossed his arms and scowled, but he let Lupin get closer. Lupin was gentle as he wiped the blood off Jigen’s face. After he got the worst of the blood off, he sat back and tilted his head. 

“Well, he split your cheek open, but it’s not as bad as it looks. Makes you look roguish. It’ll scar nicely.” 

“It’s not going to scar at all if I have anything to say about it.” 

Lupin smiled, but it was more cautious this time, a one-sided smile, which made it look more like a smirk. Jigen felt the insatiable urge to punch it right off Lupin’s smug, bloody face, but he didn’t, because there were enough bruises under those dark eyes without him adding to the count. Lupin applied a little antibiotic ointment to the cut on Jigen’s face and a bandage. Beyond that, Jigen insisted he was fine and downed a few aspirin for the pain he knew was coming. 

“Now it’s your turn.” He stood up, towering over the still-seated Lupin. It was a power move and they both knew it. Jigen didn’t try to hide it. 

“Nah, Jigen, I’m fine. Nothing a little sleep can’t cure. I don’t --” 

“Your. Turn.” Jigen leaned down until he and Lupin were nearly eye to eye. 

Lupin swallowed hard and his eyes flicked away for a split second, then back up to Jigen’s face. Then he tried to bolt. But Jigen was ready for him.

“Oh no you don’t!” Jigen shouted and grabbed a fistful of Lupin’s shirt, preventing the thief from running. There was a brief struggle and then Jigen shoved him bodily back down in the chair. Lupin hissed. Jigen kept his grip on Lupin’s shirt. 

“Alright, what hurts?” Jigen demanded. 

“What?” Lupin’s voice hit a higher note and he cleared his throat and started again. “What do you mean?” 

“You’re acting weird. Which means you hurt more than you want me to know. So, what happened?” 

“Nothing.” 

Jigen glowered at him and pulled his other hand back threateningly. 

Lupin sighed. “He dislocated my shoulder, Jigen, it’s no big deal.” 

Jigen nearly let his fist fall and Lupin flinched, but Jigen pulled the punch at the last second. “No big deal, huh?” Jigen was already pulling Lupin’s jacket off -- none too gently. Lupin yelped as he jostled his left arm. “No big deal? So you’ve just been walking around with your arm freakin’ disconnected from your shoulder for half an hour?” 

Lupin squirmed. “Yes. Maybe. C’mon Jigen, you know I’m double-jointed. I can pop my shoulders in and out whenever I want.” 

“Uh-huh,” Jigen agreed as he tossed Lupin’s jacket in the floor. “And I also know it hurts a lot more when someone else does it for you.” 

Now that he had Lupin’s jacket off, Jigen could tell that Lupin’s shoulder didn’t look right. His left shoulder was swollen and protruding at an odd angle. In fact, Jigen was surprised Lupin still had the use of his hand. How the thief wasn’t doubled up in pain right now was a mystery to him. Just one more piece of the puzzle that was Lupin -- the man had more pain tolerance than anyone Jigen had ever met. And it was, decidedly, a bad thing. Jigen put his hands on Lupin’s shoulder, feeling out the extent of the injury. 

Lupin sucked a breath through his teeth and bowed up. His mask slipped and he and shuddered as Jigen probed his shoulder. 

Aha. There it was. There was the pain. Jigen gave Lupin’s shoulder a particularly rough poke and Lupin yelped. “You don’t have to be so rough about it!” 

“Who’s whining now?” Jigen asked. He couldn’t stop the inane grin that spread across his face. And he could actually grin because he didn’t have a split lip. 

Lupin sighed and gave Jigen a half-lidded glare. “I’m going to kill you one of these days.” 

Jigen chuckled. “Surprised you haven’t done it already. Now, hold still.” 

Jigen put one hand on Lupin’s shoulder and the other on his arm. “This is the worst I’ve seen your shoulder before,” he murmured. 

“He got me pretty good,” Lupin admitted.

“Hmph. You ready?” 

Lupin swallowed and gripped the edge of the table with his good hand. “Yeah.” 

“Ok, three…” Jigen said. 

“Don’t count.” 

“Two…”

Lupin grit his teeth and held his breath. 

“One!” Jigen pulled his arm and shoulder and with a sickening snap, Lupin’s shoulder fell back into place. 

“Aahahahhhhhhh.” Lupin shuddered and slumped forward, eyes rolling up in the back of his head. 

Jigen caught him before he pitched out of his chair. 

“Easy there, partner.” 

Lupin hung limp for a minute. 

Jigen knelt in front of him and gently slapped his face a few times. 

Lupin’s eyes fluttered and he opened them, blinking at Jigen. 

“Hey, there,” Jigen smirked. “Welcome back.” 

“God, that hurts, Jigen.” 

“I told you so.” 

Lupin let his head hang for a few seconds, just breathing. 

“But it should feel better now that it’s back in place.” 

“Yeah, a little.” 

“Wuss.” 

Lupin snorted. “Now, mother,” he said. “May I go?” 

“Oh, hell no. I’m nowhere near done with you. Off with your shirt, boyo.” 

Lupin raised an eyebrow in an expression of confusion that was just a little too staged. 

Jigen rolled his eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me. You haven’t been standing up straight since that guy hammered you against the wall. So, lemme see.” 

“Jigen, I’m --” 

Jigen didn’t wait for Lupin to finish. He grabbed the thief’s shirt and pulled, untucking it. 

“Ok, ok, I’ll do it myself!” Lupin yelped. 

Jigen smirked. 

“You’re insufferable, you know.” 

Jigen grinned. “I know and you like it.” 

Lupin sighed as he unbuttoned his shirt. Jigen noticed that he moved his left arm easier now, if still carefully. Lupin slipped out of his shirt. 

Jigen winced. “Ouch.” Lupin’s left side was covered in mottled bruising, from where he’d slammed into the wall. From shoulder to waist, purplish bruises spread across his side, the skin angry and red and broken in one or two places. His black shirt had done a lot to hide the blood. Jigen picked his shirt up and felt the left side. Damp, but not enough to soak through his jacket. Jigen’s hand came away bloody. He looked up at Lupin and sighed. 

Lupin gave him a weak smile. “It looks worse than it feels.” 

“Don’t lie to me.” 

“Ok. It feels as bad as it looks?” 

“Better.” Jigen put a hand against Lupin’s side, gently this time. He felt along Lupin’s ribcage. Lupin jerked away as Jigen got to a particularly dark spot. Jigen could tell by the look on his face that the reaction was entirely involuntary. Lupin blushed sheepishly. Jigen rolled his eyes. God, the man was such a conundrum. Put Lupin in any other situation and you couldn’t embarrass him, no matter how ridiculous it got. Injure him and put him on an exam table and he was suddenly gun shy. Jigen was pretty certain it was because getting injured punched holes in the careful facade of invincibility Lupin liked to display. 

“You don’t have to keep pretending for me, you know,” Jigen said as his hands returned to Lupin’s side. 

Lupin stiffened. “What are you talking about?” his voice was carefully controlled, calm, but Jigen heard the slight waver in it that meant he was trying very hard to concentrate on anything but the pain right now. 

“I know it hurts, Lupin. You can shout, or curse, or...cry. Or whatever.” Jigen turned to the table and rooted around in the first aid kit for a clean cloth and the rubbing alcohol. He put a little alcohol on the cloth and began cleaning Lupin's side.

Lupin flinched and gave him an odd look. “C’mon, man, cry? Me?” 

Jigen shrugged and continued cleaning off the blood and dirt. “Whatever you’re holding in, you can let it out. I don’t care. You’re not going to be less of you if you show a little weakness now and then.” 

Lupin opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. Instead he simply deflated, slumping over the table on his right arm as Jigen finished cleaning his side. He let out a heavy sigh that sounded like it might have been almost a whimper. 

Jigen kept his mouth shut. Even though he really, really wanted to tease Lupin for that sigh. But he knew if he did, Lupin would just clam up and keep his injuries hidden. Jigen understood that. He did the same thing. But he’d come to find, through a lot of prodding and reprimanding from Goemon, that in the end, that did nothing but make you suffer more while you pretended everything was fine. 

Jigen finished and stood up. “Well, good news is, I don’t think you broke any ribs. Cracked, maybe and you’ve got one helluva bruise. But you’ll be ok as long as you don’t go getting yourself thrown into any more walls anytime soon.” 

Lupin laughed weakly. “Yeah, well, I don’t plan on it.” 

“Good.” Jigen crossed his arms and stared down at Lupin. 

He looked so small, so vulnerable. One of those rare moments were Lupin actually looked...human. And disgusting. He was covered in grit, blood and street dust. Jigen was sure he didn’t look any better, but there was something charming about Lupin even under all that mess.

Lupin looked up then and grinned, despite his busted lip. His bruises stood out stark against his pale skin and sharp cheekbones, but he wore them well. Defiant, rakish -- not like Jigen. Jigen knew he looked like hell right now, beaten, bruised. 

_It’s the scowl,_ Lupin would say. _You always look like the loser, Jigen. The trick is to never_ **_look_ ** _like the loser, even if you were._

Maybe Lupin was right. 

Because even now, under the purplish discoloration, the uneven shoulders and busted lip, Lupin still smiled and looked damned devilish doing it. 

Jigen sighed. “God, you’re such a mess, you know that?” 

“I know,” Lupin parroted. “And you love it.” 

Jigen grunted and rolled his eyes. “Go take a bath, Lupin.” 


End file.
